Han and Lee finish 22nd in women's team sprint classic

Olympic Sports

Published: 16 Feb. 2022, 20:36

Han and Lee finish 22nd in women's team sprint classic

Han Da-som competes during the women's team sprint classic cross-country skiing competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics on Wednesday at Zhangjiakou National Cross-Country Skiing Centre in Hebei Province, China [AP/YONHAP]

Lee Eui-Jin competes during the women's team sprint classic cross-country skiing competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics on Wednesday at Zhangjiakou National Cross-Country Skiing Centre in Hebei Province, China. [AP/YONHAP]

Han Da-som and Lee Eui-jin rounded off their first-ever Olympics, finishing 22nd in the women's team sprint classic semifinals at Zhangjiakou National Cross-Country Skiing Centre on Wednesday with a time of 26 minutes and 55.52 seconds.

A total of 26 countries were divided into two groups for the semifinals. Korea was placed in the second group alongside 10 other countries, and the team's time of 26:55.52 put them in 11th position. Only 22 of the 26 countries that entered the race were able to finish, with Korea coming in last.

As the top four teams from both heats automatically advanced to the final with two additional spots given to the two fastest teams from either semifinal, Korea missed out on a chance to compete in the final.

The team sprint classic is a two-person sprint relay, with each skier completing six laps on the course, two laps at a time using the classical method where the athletes' skies move back and forth in a parallel motion inside parallel grooves of snow.

Han was first up for Korea, passing the race over to Lee with a time of 4:05.20. Lee then finished her two laps with a time of 4:19.05.

Han recorded a time of 4:44.60 in her third and fourth lap, then passed it over once again to Lee, who finished her next two laps with a time of 4:21.20.

Han recorded a time of 4:37.6 in her last two laps while Lee recorded a time of 4:47.4, crossing the finish line with a total time of 26:55.52 to put Korea at 11th place in the second semifinal group, and 22nd in total.

Germany later won the gold medal, Sweden took silver and Russia won bronze.

Both Han and Lee also competed in the cross country free sprint race on Feb. 8, Han finishing 75th and Lee 77th in the qualification round.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]